


Your eyes are pretty neat :)

by orphan_account



Category: Naruto
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Gaara likes plants, Gifts, Lee is emotional, Like three time skips, M/M, Soulmates, This is DUMB, but we love em, cause i was stuck on writing, i tried to describe colours but it's hard, proposal, pure boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:48:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21852448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Ever since they first met at the chunin exams, they knew they were soulmates.Their eyes met and a whole new colour came to life.Years later, they're still going strong together.(or: pure dumb soulmate Au fluff because that's nice :) )
Relationships: Gaara/Rock Lee
Comments: 9
Kudos: 109
Collections: GaaLee / LeeGaa Holiday Exchange





	Your eyes are pretty neat :)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kaibacorp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaibacorp/gifts).



> So I'm sorry this is a day later than it was supposed to be! Ran into some issues while posting since some of it didn't save.
> 
> Anyyyways, here it is! My contribution to the GaaLee gift exchange for @kaibacorp
> 
> I tried my best to do some domestic soulmates!!  
> It might not be the best, but I gave it a shot!
> 
> Oh and the soulmate Au! Basically you can't seed the colour of your soulmates eyes till you see them! For example, seeing grey instead of green if your soulmates eyes are green till you eventually meet them.

"Go get 'em, Lee!"

Lee was only 13. Not even a fully grown man should have been put up against the likes of Gaara of the sand, never mind a 13-year-old who couldn't even grasp the basic ninjustu. All Lee had going for him was his determination and a bit of Tai-jutsu! There was literally no chance of winning and that fact was clear as day. 

Yet still they decided that it would be such a wonderfully smart idea to put the two into one of the chunin exam fights. Sure, it was a random choice, but still they could have at least realised the danger of such a fight and put in some extra precautions just in case Gaara got a little too out of hand. Lee would have to have a miracle on his side in order to survive!

"I will be sure to do my very best Gai-sensei!" Despite the almost inevitable outcome of the battle, Lee still had hope. That was one of his most obvious and likeable features- his determination and perseverance! No matter the issue at hand, Lee still gave it 110%. Even if that meant seriously injuring himself in the process.

Though, he seemed even more thrilled and eager than ever today. Maybe he'd just had something for breakfast that gave him just a bit too much energy.. Probably. It was Lee, he likely just wanted to be totally energised for the day, especially considering how important it was. He hurried himself down into the ring, hopping over the barrier with the confidence of a phoenix, burned to ash and then risen again with wings of flame and fire. This was the type of confidence that was well-earned. He had suffered through some of the worst, now he was prepared to give his all with no fear of what was ahead or what had passed.

His opponent was Gaara. Gaara had another kind of confidence. The confidence of a boy who had lost it all and had nothing left to loose. He had no need for fear as there was no longer anything for him to have concern for. His eyes were sunken and restless, lacking in life and emotion, the only thing remaining being the heartache he'd endured in the past. He had the confidence of someone who had never lost a fight. The confidence of someone with unrivaled power. 

His siblings were standing up in the stalls, keeping a close eye on their younger brother. They knew full well the instability of the young ninja, as well as the demon living inside him. If things got too intense, they were prepared to step in at any moment to prevent any serious injury. The two had made their promise to prevent Shukaku from attacking innocent people, and so they were really to do anything in their power to keep such a promise.

Like a standoff between two wild creatures, Gaara and Lee stood opposing each other with narrowed eyes and the intent to win. Lee readied himself in a fighting stance, large, round eyes fixed on his target. It was his first time getting to see Gaara up close. And he was stunned. There was just something about Gaara that he had never seen before in anyone else. Blue. "Your eyes," he began with a tone of awe and wonder, "they are incredible,"

All of a sudden, the sand ninja began to panic, almost as if he didn't know how to react. His eyes widened as he began his attack, sand spilling from the gourd on his back. "Who are you," the jinchuriki hissed, eyes narrowing. Sand whipped about around him, forming a thick shell as he sent spears of sand towards Lee.

However, Lee didn't care about the sudden attacks (it was a fight, after all), it wasn't as if he was now suddenly planning on losing. He had been training for years, and he wasn't about to lose so much progress due to some distraction of this unusual situation. Admittedly, he really was excited, but if that showed too much there was a chance he wouldn't be able to focus properly. The young ninja was somewhat struggling to think straight for a brief moment (but wouldn't anyone who'd just seen a brand new colour?) before almost immediately snapping back to it just in time to dodge an oncoming barrage of sand. He had finally seen Blue. Blue! He had heard people talk about the colour before- the colour off the sea, the sky, the birds, the river- but all he had seen in life so far was a blanket of dull, gray tones. It had all been so lifeless till now. He was finally seeing blue. The blue of Gaara's eyes, a blue with such deep resolve and a meaningful truth within. A blue that was strong and reliable. Blue was his new favourite colour, there was no question. Blue was the colour of his soulmate's eyes. 

But why Gaara? That part just didn't seem to make sense.. They were supposed to be rivals right? They had to be rivals against each other! Two strong opponents, one who had worked so hard to achieve what he had while the other was some natural born genius. Gaara was pretty much on the same page too- why on earth was he suddenly seeing this beautiful deep brown in Lee's eyes? It was new, and refreshing, finally getting to see something that he had never experienced, but why Lee? Why this loud, confident leaf ninja with bright green spandex and ridiculously bushy eyebrows? He couldn't understand. In fact, he was so far from being able to understand, the only thing he was able to do was fight against him.

And so, the fight between two rivals began.

\---

"We did it," Lee collapsed down against the tree beside Gaara. His breaths were short and unsteady, chest tight as he struggled to regain his lost stamina and energy. "We have defeated him," and still despite his injuries and shortness of breath, he was still beaming proudly. Not the same could be said for Gaara however.

"It doesn't count as a win.. That was pure luck,"  
"That is not true! That victory was just as well-earned as any other! My teacher taught me that luck is also part of your skill."  
"That meddling fool?" Gaara showed little to no expression in his words, though still there was an underlying sadness in what he was saying.  
"He is not a meddling fool!" Lee defended sharply, crossing his arms and pouting like a child in a tantrum. Gaara was about to retaliate, however he quickly decided that it wouldn't be any use trying to argue against Lee. His persistence was borderline tyring, and he really did not want to go through that after such an intense fight. So instead, he found himself saying something he never thought he'd say. "I'm sorry," he uttered. His eyes carried over to Lee, seeing him still pouting childishly. The sand ninja looked down to the grass sheepishly and sighed. He never said anything about the chunin exams.. He hadn't even apologised. "Lee, about the chunin exams-"  
"Oh yes! I totally forgot! I really wanted to thank you for what you did during our fight!" Lee grinned brightly, his smile near blinding.  
"What- no, no, I would like to apologise,"  
"What for? There is no need! I would like to thank you for allowing me to become a stronger ninja. Gai-sensei said it himself, the reason I lost was because I was not strong enough- and also because I was distracted by your eyes," he laughed for a moment and looked back over towards Gaara, the look in his eyes carrying no grudge and no hate against him.  
"Shouldn't you hate me? Shouldn't you despise me? I crushed your leg, I almost killed you!"

Lee paused for a moment, though his smile never faltered. He unwrapped the bandages from his left arm and pulled up the sleeve of his body suit. Running up the length of his pale arm was scars of all lengths and depth. Some were now nothing more than white grazes, while some were still pink-ish and clearly visible. To say the least, it looked painful. Gaara thought to himself as he scanned across the arm, but before he could speak up to apologise for it, he was interrupted "For a while, it did cause issues, especially my leg. Honestly, I hated you for doing it for a bit too," he shuffled a little closer to Gaara till they were shoulder to shoulder, "but then I realised it was just you testing me! If you hadn't done that, I would not have become stronger, so for that I thank you. Now I could never hate you, you helped me grow into a stronger ninja!"

"Thank you, Lee.. I know what I have done is awful, so thank you. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do. When I saw this mess of green spandex and a glossy black bowl cut with orange leg warmers I didn't know what to think. Then I saw your eyes. I realised they were new- that colour was completely new to me. I didn't understand at first, but when I remembered that I was told about soulmates and their eyes, I struggled to quite understand why it was you, so I panicked and attacked. Then, I saw how well you fought. You gave it your all, and never backed down. It was very admirable, and inspiring," Gaara considered his next words, however before he got anything out, he felt his hand twitch. Flinching momentarily, he glanced down to see Lee's fingers intertwined with his own, and in that moment the world seemed to stop, like there was nothing there now but them.

A soft pink now dusting his cheeks, he couldn't help but get a little flustered. It was his first time in so long holding someone's hand, he's could hardly even remember it. It was so serene, so comforting. Lee looked a little embarrassed too, his face turning a rosy colour as he glanced up towards the other. "I hope this is okay. I was just thinking about how I was also somewhat confused to see who my soulmate was when I saw your eyes. I could not help myself from getting lost in them, the blue is absolutely stunning. If you are uncomfortable with holding hands, that is fine!"  
"No, no.. This is fine. Thank you, Lee."  
He had to admit, he was beginning to struggle to think of what to do or say next. Yet, of course, Lee had something to say to break the silence.  
"Do you think being soulmates will work out for us?"  
Gaara didn't need to hesitate. "I hope so, yes."

\---

Thin ribbons of light streamed in between the curtains as the day rolled in. Gaara stirred slightly in his sleep, rolling over under the thin sheets. Incoherent grumbled nonsense escaped his lips as he wrapped an arm around Lee- his boyfriend- and pressed his face into the crook of the leaf ninja's neck.

Being right in the middle of winter, weather was naturally terrible. Ice crackled underfoot, wind howled like starved wolves, and daylight only lasted a few hours at most. Yet, people still made the best of it. Young children played outside with joyous laughter as they threw snowballs across the street at one and other as their parents sat inside by the fire with a coffee or hot chocolate together. All in all, winter wasn't too bad- especially when spent with family and friends.

"Good morning, Gaara," Lee began softly, seeing his boyfriend beginning to wake. He ran his hand through the mess of firey red hair and smiled to himself. Thinking back on the past few years, it was definitely these moments that he could pinpoint as his favourites. The one he loved the most by his side, buried into him as they just lay there together, taking in the silence of the early morning. Though, the best thing about it all might have just been being able to see those flawless blue eyes.

"-morning, Lee.." Gaara peered up from his comfortable position in bed and smiled gently.  
"Merry Christmas!" As always, Lee was at full energy, even at the crack of dawn. His arms were wrapped tightly around the other, almost shaking with excitement for the morning ahead. It was like this every year (though neither would have it any other way), with Lee eagerly waking up at god knows whatever time in the morning to wake up his soulmate and drag him downstairs while Gaara was still half-asleep.

It was Christmas tradition at this point and they would never change that.

"Merry Christmas," Gaara hummed in reply, "did you sleep well?"  
"Absolutely wonderful with you in my arms, as usual! And you?"  
"Good, good.. I slept well," he ran his hand up across Lee's chest and up to his cheeks, slowly caressing them as the other leaned into the loving touch. They were both quite happily content there and then. To Gaara, their cuddling of a morning was like an antidote to any of his issues, no matter the issue at hand. So at peace, so comforting, it was his sanctuary.

Occasionally, he considered just what brought them together. What did bring two soulmates together? Perhaps fate, or maybe gravity? Whatever it was, he was thankful for it. Without it, he would be left alone, lost without the light to guide him in his worst moments. He also considered what would've happened if he hadn't been stopped that day in the chunim exams. He didn't like to dwell on that topic all too often, however.

Gaara could have spent hours upon hours like that. Huddled up beneath layers of thick quilts and blankets, feeling so incredibly safe and tranquil with the sound of nothing but a few robins singing together on their windowsill. Nothing was better than that. Just a tranquil, slow Christmas morning. 

Of course, Lee wasn't about to take this morning slowly. Even if it was Christmas. Large eyes wide and gleaming like Christmas light, he pushed himself up with one arm, using the other to scoop up Gaara. "Come on, you have things to open downstairs!"  
"5 more minutes, I'm comfortable," Gaara whined.  
"No, this is very important! This is the most important Christmas!"  
"Lee, you say that every year,"  
"And I mean it every year! Now come on!"

Knowing it was futile to argue against him, Gaara just complied. He wearily stumbled out of bed with Lee, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes. The dark haired leafe ninja had already grabbed onto his hand and began to drag him down the stairs into their living room before he even knew what was happening.

Just like every year, their living room was decorated as much as possible. Up till he had moved in with Lee, Gaara had never really decorated. But here he was, with a 7ft tall tree, decorated garlands, a wreath and all sorts of other bits of tinsel and glittering gold and red statues. Last night they had each taken it in turns to head downstairs and lay out their gifts for one another and fill their stockings, so now their tree had piles and piles of gifts all spread out for them to open.

Lee was the first to sit down, taking his place by the fire as he crossed his legs and grinned with utter excitement. "Come on, come on," he prompted, patting down on thee floor beside him as he turned towards Gaara, "this year is going to be the most incredible!"  
"With you here, how could it not be," Gaara took a look across the room at everything laid out. There were boxes neatly wrapped in all sizes and shapes, some with leaf printed wrapping and some with gold sand printed wrapping. Easy enough to guess whose was whose. He also spotted a few potted plants wrapped with gold bows off to the side- Lee really did know him so well.

He wandered across the room with a sleepy smile, taking a seat beside Lee with a soft sigh as he rest his head against the taller's shoulder. "It looks wonderful," he added, wrapping his fingers around Lee's hand, "What should we open first?"  
"Oh, oh! I have one!" Lee exclaimed, reaching over towards a rectangular box in front of them. "Here," he held it out towards Gaara. He took it gratefully and began to tear off the wrapping, "thank you," he hummed, taking a look to see what it was. On the front of the box was printed the name of some unknown store with a fancy name, leaving him somewhat curious. He opened the box and found 3 other boxes inside. One was a pastel blue, one was light green, and the other was a pale grey, and each was labelled with some sort of flavoured tea. "I certainly hope you like tea!"  
"It's perfect, thank you," Gaara gave Lee a quick kiss on the cheek, watching as he lit up almost as bright as the Christmas tree in response.

The sand ninja reached over and took another box from the side, holding it out in his hands. "This one is for you,"  
"Thank you, Gaara!" Beforee he even looked at the present, he leaned over and gave Gaara a tight hug. He then tore away the wrapping, finding a large book. "It's a scrap book," Gaara explained, "I filled it with all out memories from when we were younger."

Lee flipped over a page and sure enough hhe found small bits and pieces from when they were teenagers. A photo Gaara had gotten with his siblings on his first visit to the hidden leaf villages around the time of the chunin exams. Then, there was a thin, white piece of what looked to be bone. Beneath it was a small description reading, 'some of the bone from when we defeated Kimimaro together. You gave me the strength I needed during that fight, so I kept this to remind me.' The entire book was filled to the brim with scattered about bits of their time together, from photos of them during trips about to things that Lee had said that Gaara had always remembered. It was enough to bring tears of gratitude and happiness to Lee's eyes.

"Oh, Gaara, it is wonderful! I love it so incredibly much!" he wrapped his arms around Gaara and squeezed rightly, pulling him even closer. In all honesty, he could've spent hours upon hours just sitting there, looking through the book and reminiscing upon all if their memories, pointing out some ridiculous event from each thing in there. However, he was far too excited to give Gaara his next gift to wait anymore.

"I was going to give this one to you last, but I do not believe I can wait any more!" Lee laughed to himself and grabbed another gift, this time unwrapped and stuffed right behind the rest of the gifts. It was an hourglass, decorated with a gold rim and filled with a claret red sand, similar in colour to Gaara's hair. He handed it over to his soulmate with a hopeful smile. Gaara gave him a curious glance as he took the small glass ornament. "Flip it over!" Lee added. He nodded and flipped over the hourglass, watching intently as the sand fell into the bottom section.

"When we were younger," Lee began to talk, catching Gaara's attention, "and we first met in those chunin exams, it felt a little weird. I knew you would be a strong opponent! You had the look of a winner, even from up where I was standing in the rafters with Gai-sensei. Then, I got closer.. I saw your eyes, and I couldn't help but be in awe! I looked into your eyes and saw a whole new colour! Blue, a beautiful, spectacular blue! We had a all been taught about soulmates before, of course, however I never believed how incredible it would actually be to find mine," Gaara kept his eyes on the glass, the sand now draining enough to begin to reveal the start of something glittering inside,"I did not want to fight you from then on, however I realised that if I gave up just because you were my soulmate, then I would not be able to prove myself as a ninja! So, I gave it my all, and so did you!" The object submerged in the sand became clearer as more sand fell down, "Then, I saw you when I was about to be defeated by Kimimaro, and you swooped in just in time to save me! I watched you fight, and then when we just sat down and talked, I started to know you a little more," The draining sand was almost completely gone now, leaving a ring encrusted with small white diamonds around the outside like a band of stars against a silver-plated galaxy, with a slightly larger rubellite tourmaline gem placed right in the middle.

"And then years and years passed, and I knew you even better. I got to know where you came from and what your family was like, and I made friends with your siblings, and I realised how much I really, really loved you. Now we are here. I don't think I have ever been happier in my life than when I am spending time with you. So, I will say it straight out. Gaara of the Sand, my loved and most dear soulmate, will you marry me?"

Gaara sat in silence, eyes wide. He stared at the ring inside of the hourglass with his mouth agape. After a painful few moments of crushing silence, he answered.  
"Yes, yes. That would be the best thing to ever happen to me, yes!"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Merry Christmas ♥ 💚


End file.
